"They're a long way to go, and of course they're late to get here." Phellisius comforted him, saying, "The Fifth Legion owes you a favor to the Fourth Legion, and they will pay it back to you later." ”

Epitenis sneered, "Commander, do you think Dracos is a grateful person?" ”

……………………………

At the same time that the Syracuse army had landed in Lokry, the army led by Davers had reached Picosis. He had already sent a messenger to inform the governor of Picosis that the arrival of the army must be tightly sealed, and for this reason, Antaoris even sent the only five small warships in the port to temporarily intercept the merchant ships heading north, forcing them to temporarily dock in the port of Picosis, causing a lot of complaints. But when Davers, who arrived in Picosis, heard this, he praised Anta Orris for being decisive and careful, and daring to take responsibility.

At this time, Antaoris was accompanying the consul Davers to inspect the city and port of Picosis, and Davers was quite satisfied with the order and construction of the whole city, and he asked: "How many Dionian citizens are there in Pikosis now?" ”

"There are 4,523 full citizens, 3,351 reserve citizens, and 5,117 registered freedmen, for a total of 12,991 people, and the population of the whole of Picosis is about 53,000 people...... said Antaorris.

"Oh, Picosis has a lot of people!" Davers was a little surprised.

"My lord, Picosis was originally a big city in the Lucanian region that is no less than Grumentim and Poithtia, not to mention a coastal city, and it is far more attractive to Greek freedmen than Lucanian cities such as Grumentum and Niutum." Antaoris said proudly.

"So, there are quite a few Greeks who have settled here?" Davers asked immediately.

"Yes. The total number of Dionian full-fledged, probationary, and freedmen of Greek nationality is about 4,230, and this number is increasing every day, mainly Greeks from Tampaglia. ”

"In just three years, the Greeks of Picosis are almost half of the population!" Davers was taken aback again, and then asked worriedly, "Do they usually clash with the Lucanians?" ”

"There are some, but not too drastic." Antaoris said with a relaxed expression: "Because Picosis experienced many defeats before being incorporated into our Dionia, the young and middle-aged Lucania of Picosis City suffered heavy casualties, not only vacated a lot of land, but most of the remaining people also lost their courage and blood, and their tribal settlements are mostly in the eastern mountains, mainly grazing, and the Greeks here prefer the flat land by the sea, so the two sides can still be peaceful." And then there's ...... Well, the Greeks, mainly Campania, have some similarities in their habits to the Lucanians, and they get along well......"

"Looks like you're enjoying your life here! And you, the chief executive, are also doing a good job, and you know the situation of the citizens of the city very well! ......" Davers praised him repeatedly, and at the same time was intrigued by what he had said earlier, and asked, "Lord Antaorris, could you please tell me more about this Campanian characteristic?" ”

"My lord, the Greeks of Campania are the Greeks who are least like Greeks I have ever seen, except for us Dionians."

Anta Orris' words caught Davers' attention: "Oh, how do you say that? ”

Anta Oris thought for a moment and said seriously: "I guess it may be because the Greeks in Campania have always been surrounded by alien races (Campania has the Wolsi in the north, the Lucanians in the south, the Samonians in the east, and the Phoenicians in Sardinia, a large island very close to the west), so on the one hand, compared to the Greeks who like freedom elsewhere, the Campanians are very united and like to work together; On the other hand, some of their living habits are influenced by the surrounding neighbors, such as eating beef and mutton, and also worshipping some gods that do not belong to Greece, for example, some Campanias also built the Samoni worship god Savoni (Samoni god of war), believing that they can avoid the harm of wild beasts...... In Picosius, these characteristics of theirs are also evident. ”

Davers smiled and said earnestly: "We have Greeks, Lucanians, Brutis in our alliance, and now there are Campanian Greeks, and there may be more races joining this alliance in the future. Therefore, when dealing with conflicts between ethnic groups, we must first hold a principle -- that is, tolerance, tolerance of their religion, tolerance of their living habits; The second is justice, where all people and races are equal under the laws of Ionia and cannot be favored; There is also the need to guide and guide them to like our way of life, entertainment, competitions, military training...... The most important thing is religion, and don't forget that Hades is the patron saint of Dionia! Over time, I believe that whoever they were before them will eventually become Ionians! ”

Anta Oris listened carefully, then nodded convincingly and said, "Lord Davers, you are so right! ”

"I'm just talking, you're already doing this in the city, aren't you?" Davers laughed self-deprecatingly: "If you want these races to merge faster, you better find common ground between them." During this time, I discussed with Ansitanos and discovered a secret—"

Davers looked at Antaoris and saw that he was listening intently, and said in an accentuated tone: "Hercules, the god of Hercules, is very famous among various tribes in Italy, and some tribes even claim to be descendants of his descendants...... I am going to propose in the Senate that 'the temple of Hercules be built in Turi'i and his celebration will be inaugurated so that the people of Dionya of all tribes may celebrate this deity'...... Alas, it was only temporarily suspended because of the outbreak of war, I think Picosis can try to do it first, what do you think? ”

"Your Excellency, that's a good idea!" Antaoris praised heartily: "In fact, there are already several altars of Hercules in Picosis, both Lucanian and Campanian. I will do my best to build a great temple of Hercules and make Pykosis the center of the area dedicated to Hercules! ”

"Are you going to steal the limelight from Turiyi? I'm afraid that Kunogorata will fight with you. Davers said jokingly, and the two laughed.

The two talked and laughed on the way back to the town hall, and in this harmonious atmosphere, no one mentioned Euric Puz and Preades, in fact, there was no need to mention them, because they were a thing of the past.

Back at the town hall, the 1st Legion, Antonios, and the 2nd Legion, Amintas, were already waiting.

"My lord, the camp has been built, and the soldiers have begun to rest." When Antonios saw Davers coming in, he immediately stepped forward to report: "In addition, the messenger from the Third Legion has sent news that the Third Legion is already on its way to Picosis, and it is estimated that it will arrive at dusk. ”

"You can tell me that this Alexis was scared to withdraw from Pothenia before he had even fought head-on with the Samonai, which is too embarrassing for our Dionian legions!" Amintas scoffed disapprovingly.

"If the Third Army really fights with the army of the Samonai, I'm afraid that now I can only take less than 20,000 of your First and Second Legions to face the huge strength of more than 40,000 Samonai, how can this battle be fought?! Alexis gave up his reputation for the sake of victory in the whole war, and this prudent approach was undoubtedly very correct! It should be worth learning from you, especially you Amintas! Davers said solemnly. What happened to the Third Legion at Pothenia had been a few days earlier, and Davos had already learned the details from Antaorris.

Amintas muttered a few words unconvinced, not daring to speak out loud.

"My lord, this Samonai seems to be fierce. First set up an ambush, and then took the initiative to send a large army to attack head-on, not giving the Third Army a chance to breathe at all. Antonios interjected, "If we knew that we were going to attack Poseidonia, would the Samonians send another army to kill them?!" ”

"It's good that the Samonai people dare to come, I'm afraid they won't come!" Davos began to carefully analyze the plan he had been considering for the past few days to the three people in the living room: "According to the intelligence, the Samonai have always won more and lost more than the Lucanians in the past, and the Campanias have been attacked by them for many years, presumably the Samonai people have always been very proud of their fighting ability. This, coupled with the fact that this was the first time that the Samonai had sent so many warriors, had probably fueled their arrogance even more, thanks to the people of Syracuse—" he said, glancing at Antaoris.

Antaoris nodded and said, "In the past few days, the warships patrolling our port have reported many times, 'A large number of cargo ships from Syracuse have been found heading north and entering the port of Poseidonia. I think it's very likely that they brought food for the Samonai. ”

"Damn the people of Syracuse!" Amintas scolded angrily and shouted, "My lord, we should quickly conquer Poseidonia and cut off the food supply of the Samoneans while the Samoneans do not know that we have arrived!" ”

"Here's a way." Davers did not nod his head and continued: "But Antaoris told me that the Samonai have their own port town to the south of Campania, Irna, otherwise they would not have dared to send an army of more than 40,000 men before they captured Poseidonia. Taking Poseidonia alone will only add some trouble to the Syracuse to transport food, but it will prolong the time for us to repel them. Besides, now Dionysius of Syracuse is already preparing to invade Greater Greece, so we can't engage in a protracted war of attrition with the Samonains! ”